Law Schools with radical, or "heterodox," programs

[rakovsky]

Hello, I am searching for Law Schools with heterodox law programs.

For example, most economic grad programs today run the students through a conventional track teaching Neoclassical (or "Neoliberal") economics. But a number of schools have heterodox programs (meaning radical, non-mainstream) that study economics from a whole range of viewpoints, like Keynesianism (President Franklin Roosevelt's policies), Marxism, and others!

American University
Notre Dame
University of Massachusetts
University of Vermont
The full list is at:
http://www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences...on/schools.htm
http://www.csbsju.edu/economics/Care...20Programs.htm

It would be exciting to study Law from a radical perspective too!

A radical law program might talk about how corporate lobbying groups almost make our laws, or the contradiction between real democracy and democracy "as it is," where people might want things one way, but the government will still decide against their interests. Or how should a lawyer who believes in the public interest act differently than lawyers for corporate interests? Is it more important to choose a winnable case, or to take a stand on a losing, but vital issue?

There is a list of heterodox economic schools, but how about heterodox law schools?

[dyoh]

Why? That sounds frightening in some ways. I'm sensing a political career in your future!

[rakovsky]

A career in civil rights might scare a man in a white sheet, but a green skeleton?

[P.D.]

This post, while well-intentioned, is slightly moronic. You would feel right at home in most law schools, as most professors would sympathize with your perspective, but that's not really what learning law is about. Once you actually understand law, you can worry about who's pushing for what interests. Just go to the best law school you can get into. You won't have trouble finding professors there who share your perspective, and you can work with them after your first year. There's an entire branch called "critical legal studies" with radical/unorthodox professors of law. It's not as radical as heterodox economics versus regular economics, but they basically share the viewpoint you just described.

[rakovsky]

PD, Thanks for the input.

Do you know how to find out what schools have "critical legal studies?"

[dyoh]

Rokovsky, good luck finding your ideal school. Law appears to be geared largely toward precedents and less so towards varied ideas. You might get more of what you want during the last year, but the others will be full of tedious details and broad overviews of topics. I don't know if you'll find this helpful or not, but you may want to seriously consider a dual major. I know it's a lot of work, but a masters in government or some particular interest of yours may give you the combination you want. Remember too that law is one of those fields that almost requires you to attend a top institution for many of the best jobs, but your direction may be different enough that it won't matter for you. Good luck. Oh yeah, it takes a lot to scare a green skeleton.